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The manufacturing downturn deepened last month, fuelling fears that it will drag down overall growth in the third quarter of the year.

The Markit/CIPS PMI index of manufacturing slid to 48.4 last month from 49.6 in August and farther below the 50 mark that separates growth and contraction. The decline, mainly driven by weak exports, sent the pound to a two-week low of 1.6106 against the dollar.

This meant that the average PMI reading over the quarter was 47.7, the lowest level since the second quarter of 2009 and equal to a 1 per cent dip in manufacturing output.